A Helpful Nudge
by delusional dreamer
Summary: Sometimes, all you need is a little nudge from your cousin to get you back to your senses.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter.**  
Pairing: **Scorpius/Rose  
**A/N:** _I am assuming that going to a Muggle university would be very difficult for a wizard._**  
Summary: **Sometimes, all you need is a little nudge from your cousin to get you back to your senses.

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**A Helpful Nudge**

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The crowded streets of London only fulfilled to make Rose lonelier. Her gloved hands were shoved into the pockets of the thick brown coat her mother had bought for her this Christmas. The outsides of her sturdy leather boots shone with raindrops as she continued trying to fruitlessly avoid the large puddles of rain which seemed to swallow up most of the sidewalks. She didn't care much anymore though, even if mud was beginning to soak the fabric of her jeans.

She never thought a person could feel this lonely.

It wasn't like she was alone – in the sense of the word. There were people running along around her, doing their daily routines or just spending a day out and about. Although, these people were strangers, shouldn't the noisy chattering of _people_ help this odd feeling swirling around her stomach? Nope, of course not!

_God must hate me_, she decided.

While the option of dropping in for an unannounced visit to see her parents looked appealing, she doubted now would be the best time. Hugo, who had recently turned eighteen, was planning on bringing his new girlfriend for dinner to meet their parents tonight. Rose had bailed out, claiming she couldn't put up with another one of Hugo's "girlfriends" – if that was even the right word. More than half of her brother's relationships ended in a week and were mostly just for a nice shag without the guilt of it having been with a stranger. Of course, Hugo would _never_ admit that.

Angry at herself for these _stupid_ emotions, Rose ducked into small coffee shop and seated herself down at one of the small tables by the large window. The presence of the empty chair in front of her only made her feel worse.

"What'd the chair ever do to you, Rosie?" An amused and slightly concerned male voice questioned from behind her.

Gasping, Rose turned around, jumping out of her seat and launched herself at the voice. His arms caught her, steadying her, as he too wrapped his arms around her.

"James! What are you doing here?" Rose breathed, pulling herself back to dissect his appearance. His round face had hardened, his dark brown eyes were sparkling, and there was a slightly fading tan to his skin.

"Oh, you know." He winked, grinning. "I hang around old coffee shops as a hobby."

Laughing, Rose pulled him to the empty chair while settling back into her own. "How are you?" Her voice was slightly lower and her eyes cautious.

The last time someone had asked James that, he'd replied with a clipped _'fine' _and left, turning up at dawn drunk as hell.

Sighing, James ran a hand through his hair –a habit he had picked up easily from his father (Albus had it too) – and spoke slowly. "I'm…okay. Or at least, I think I'm okay. Getting away helped….where everything didn't remind me…"

Rose nodded. It was understandable, his need to be away from the family and all the reminders of past memories – and the future ones that would never happen. She remembered Clarissa well. Always the happy one; bright and cheerful – Rose used to seek her out just for the brilliant smile that never seemed to leave her face. It was a tragedy for the whole family when she died – in a Muggle car crash of all things. Obviously, it hit James the worst. He had been planning on proposing soon.

"Anyway," clearing his throat, he asked the question he'd probably been wondering since he first spied her. "What are you doing in a Muggle coffee shop on a day like this? You hate rain, so it must be good." He leaned in; grinning in that completely James was that was such a relief to see. _Maybe he could heal_, Rose considered.

"Well—I…" Fighting the words that just wanted to spill out, Rose clamped her mouth shut and stared down at her hands.

She had always been oddly close to her cousin James. Despite the two years age difference and that Albus happened to be her best friend, James always just had this air about him… Never having a big brother herself – though Teddy, Louis, and Fred fancied themselves for the job– it was nice just having that person to talk to. James had been somewhat of a confident to her, and she had, selfishly, missed that so much while he was gone.

So what was stopping her from spilling her guts to his ready ears like she had so many times before? She was scared of how he would react. It wasn't long ago he was bitter at anyone in love, for his love was so cruelly taken from him. Would he just get mad at her or would he help? Show her that logic she tended to overlook?

"Rosie?" He prompted, looking more concerned by the second.

"It's Scorpius!" She finally burst out loudly, before glancing around at the other people inside the small space and lowered her voice when continuing. "I miss him…and I've never felt like this before. It just like…like he's my air and I can't breathe without him."

Preparing herself the bitter laughter that was sure to come from the mouth of her current company, she looked up at him from behind her lashes. Unsurprisingly, James had an unreadable look on his face, as if he was remember something best left forgotten.

Flinching slightly, Rose quickly backtracked, "I'm sorry, James. I didn't think…Just forget it."

"No…" He started slowly, "I know what you mean."

Shocked, Rose turned to look at him fully. His face still had that expression, like he was in so much pain yet so happy. Was he remembering a time when he felt like this with Clarissa?

"I'm just…I feel so lost without him, James, and that terrifies me. Will it always be like this? What will I feel like if he goes away…" Rose swallowed, "I'll be…"

James nodded his head, as if he could understand her stuttered words exactly. "Where is he, Rosie?"

"Er—well…" Of course, with James gone during the time he left, her cousin would have no idea where he was. "Scorpius decided he wanted to see what a Muggle university was like."

Snorting, James grinned, breaking that awful expression he had on his face. "That's something Scorp' would so do…"

"Yeah, he wanted me to go too, but…I have a job back here and I'm in Auror training."

"Hey," James said softly, "Just because he wants to do something doesn't mean you have to do it too. You may be in a relationship, but you can each of your own pleasures. Like how you love strawberry ice cream and Scorpius hates it. You didn't change your tastes for him, did you?"

"I've missed you and your weirdly wise words." Rose grinned.

"Oh, baby, I'm a genius and don't forget it!" Morphing his expression back to an oddly serious one, he continued. "Why don't you just go visit him? I doubt people would kick a pretty girl like you out who just wants to see her boyfriend."

"I didn't think he'd want to be bothered. He already told me classes are tough and I don't want him to fail because I was distracting him."

"Rosie, Rosie, Rosie…." He exacerbated. "That boy loves you; he's not going to turn you away because of school work. Did he do that at Hogwarts?"

"No…"

"Then why should this be any different?"

"It's Muggle stuff!"

Glaring at her, James jumped up from his seat and started to walk briskly to the door, giving her a '_are you coming?_' look.

"Where are we going?" Rose asked impatiently as James dragged her along beside him. Stopping in an alleyway, he turned back to look at her.

"You are going to go visit your boyfriend. I'm not having you mopping the whole time I'm here."

"But James…"

"Nope! You're going if I have to take you there myself."

"You don't know where it is."

"I'll find out."

Sighing, Rose settled for defeat. "Okay, I'll go. But if Scorpius fails because of this, I'm blaming you."

"And you can come after me with a giant pitch fork. Just go Rosie. Don't lose him."

Realising the deeper meaning to his words, Rose nodded once and disappeared. Arriving slightly breathless inside Scorpius' flat, she glanced around for her boyfriend. Not finding him, she walked around the flat searching.

There he was. His head had fallen and was lying across a large stack of papers and an open textbook as he snored softly. He looked exhausted. Slightly purple circles hung around his eyes and his face looked tense, stressed and sad, completely unlike the normal peaceful expression Rose missed so much at night.

Horrified at the picture he painted; Rose grabbed her wand from inside her boot and slowly levitated him to bed. Sure, he would need time to work, but he couldn't do this to himself!

She wouldn't leave him so long again, she decided firmly. He needed her.

Brushing the blonde hair from his face, she kissed his forehead lightly. Almost as if he knew she was there, he threw an arm over her waist, holding her to his chest.

_God, she had missed him._


End file.
